A Moment In Time
by 1Pagan3
Summary: Oneshot!limpsam!, angsty!Dean/John, with a 'What the...' moment at the end... oh! possible tissue alert!


AN: I woke up this morning with the nightmare, of one of my sons dying in a small hospital, still in my head... this is my attempt at therapy. Also... I own nothing of Kripke's creations, nor of the CW.

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The small hospital was full of people at every stage of illness and injury, with the sound filling the space of the emergency room until the walls seemed to hum. The doctors and nurses were few, leaving many with no other choice than to continue working long after their shifts had ended.

Towards the back in the far corner was a makeshift critical care unit with an occupant fighting for life on the small gurney surrounded by two lone figures others knew to be family. The younger of the two had red eyes while the eldest tried hard to keep composed, failing miserably. Machines whirred and beeped as they kept the form on the bed sustained.

"Come on Sammy, you can beat this." Dean said, fighting back a sob as he looked at his broken brother.

This wasn't supposed to happen, not something like this. They had taken a day off from a hunt, a rare occurrence that they had taken full advantage of. Everything was going fine, everyone had a good time and no one was arguing for once; an ever rarer occurrence. They were supposed to be eating dinner right now, not watching the youngest member of their family lie still as death, marred with bruises and broken bones, not even able to take the smallest of breaths on his own.

As Dean watched his sixteen year old brother, he was suddenly transported back to the scene, back to what happened.

"_Hey Sammy, how about you take the truck and park it closer to the diner? We'll wait for you inside." John said tossing his youngest the keys and motioning to the newly opened parking space. Seeing his son's face light up was well worth the gesture of trusting his boy with his fairly knew ride._

_Sam beamed when he felt the keys in his hand and rushed off across the dirt lot to his dad's truck, not bothering to send a smartass remark towards his older brother. As his family watched their youngest run across the lot, they both thought about how good it was to see him happy. That changed in an instant when a truck blew a tire and swerved from the road, sliding non stop into the very person they were just admiring. Horrified, they both watched helplessly as he was tossed into the air and landed with a sickening crunch._

_The ride to the hospital had been torturous, neither John nor Dean talked; both too busy praying to a deity they had long felt had abandoned their family. They prayed to any and all entities that might be listening to help their baby, to keep him with them, to bring him through this; all the while unable to get the picture of their Sammy beaten, bloody, and broken out of their minds._

Now they stood there, again helpless to do anything and it was a crushing weight on them. They were sent out towards the waiting area so the doctor could do another assessment, and although they didn't want to leave, they knew that with the limited space, they'd be more of a hindrance. Not venturing too far, they had both grabbed a coffee, not really smelling the aroma or feeling its warmth as they held it in their hands. When the doctor came out to talk to them, they knew deep down what he was going to say, but neither wanted to accept it.

"Mr. Winchester, after looking at your son's results and scans, I have to tell you that his injuries are extensive. When the car hit him, it was with enough force to do quite a bit of damage, and with the additional trauma of landing afterwards… it just compounded the problem. I'm sorry sir, but I really think that it would be a blessing for him if we…"

"Don't" growled Dean through the sobs that were fighting his control. "don't you dare say it would be better if we just let him slip away! He's a straight A student, smarter than you will ever be, he's kind and gentle and you're going to go back in there and save his life… do you understand me?"

The doctor, shocked, looked between the two men, and knew that they would never give up on the boy lying more in the dark areas of death than any resemblance of life. Nodding, he had his answer and moved swiftly back to his patient's side; they might not have to facilities of the larger hospitals, but they'd do their best to bring the boy back.

"Oh God!" Dean cried out as he collapsed to his knees, no longer able to hold himself up, already knowing that it was too late… Sammy was gone; his body just didn't know it yet.

Dean woke up in a cold sweat, the nightmare still fresh and vivid in his mind and it took a moment to process what his mind was telling him. When he finally caught up with it, he automatically looked to the empty bed next to him and panicked.

"Nonononononono… he was at a friend's house, right? Nothing happened… nothing…" he muttered while reaching for his phone.


End file.
